How to Update Zorin OS

Zorin OS is an Ubuntu based Linux distribution specially made for people new to Linux, people moving from Windows and macOS to Linux. Once you install Zorin OS on your computer, you should keep it up to date. In this article, I am going to show you how to do that. So, let’s get started.

Updating via Software Updater:

You can use the Zorin OS Software Updater to keep the installed copy of Zorin OS up to date with the latest softwares, kernel updates, and security patches.

You can manually check for updates by going to Zorin Menu > System Tools > Software Updater. The Software Updater app also automatically shows you a dialog box as follows if any new software update is available.

You can just click on Install Now to install all the new software updates that are available at that time. If you don’t want to update all the softwares, then you can skip the update by clicking on Remind Me Later. In that case, the Software Updater will prompt you for software updates some later time.

You can also see a list of packages that are to be updated. To see the list, click on Details of updates as marked in the screenshot below.

As you can see, a list of all the packages that are to be updated is displayed. The packages are organized in different categories as well. For example, if the software packages which has security updates available are displayed in the Security updates category.

If you want to see more information about any software package, then you can just select the software package from the list and click on Technical description as marked in the screenshot below.

The Technical description section has Changes and Description tabs. Each of the tabs shows different information. In the Changes tab, the changelog of the package is displayed. If you read it, you will find the difference/changes between the package that is installed on your computer and the one that will be updated to. If it’s a major version update, then the new features might also be listed here.

In the Description tab, it will show you a short description or note on what the package is or what it is used for.

You can also uncheck a particular software package using the checkboxes if you don’t want to update it. You can also skip update of a group of packages using the checkboxes.

Once you’re done, click on Install Now and Zorin OS will prompt you for the password. Just type in your login user’s password and click on Authenticate.

The Software Updater should start downloading and installing the updates. It may take a while to complete.

Once the update is complete, click on Restart Now. Your computer should reboot. All the changes should be applied on the next boot.

Updating from the Command Line:

You can also update all the packages of Zorin OS from the command line using the APT package manager.

Then, update the APT package repository cache with the following command:

$ sudo apt update

Now, type in the password of your login user and press <Enter>.

The APT package repository cache should be updated. As you can see, 162 packages can be updated.

Now, to update the packages, run the following command:

$ sudo apt upgrade

As you can see, 162 packages will be updated, 5 new packages will be installed after the update. 248 MB of packages will be downloaded from the internet. Once the update is completed, it will consume about 324 MB of additional hard disk space. Everything seems alright. Now, press y to confirm the update.

The APT package manager will download and install all the updates. It may take a while to complete.

All the packages should be downloaded and installed.

Now, reboot your computer with the following command:

$ sudo reboot

All the changes should be applied the next time your computer boots.

So, that’s how you update Zorin OS. Thanks for reading this article.

About the author

Shahriar Shovon

Freelancer & Linux System Administrator. Also loves Web API development with Node.js and JavaScript. I was born in Bangladesh. I am currently studying Electronics and Communication Engineering at Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET), one of the demanding public engineering universities of Bangladesh.